Improvement in the process, of manufacturing hats



UNITED STATES PAT T n,iien.;

LANSING n. HOPKINS, OF B OOKLYn, nfivYo Kf IM PROVYEM ENTVINI 7TH E iPROQESSf 0F MANU F A C T Um HATS; f

specification forming part of Letters Patent 13,005, dated June 5, 185. 5.

viding a new process of forming a'bat-or'hah body, a new process of bringing the sameinto" a proper size, anda new process of sticking,

scalding in, and beating up the nap 'ot'hats,'

the whole forming a complete planof-m'aking' hats, from blowing'the fur to-finishing'thc napped hat ready for dyeing, by means of aseries of machines adapted to the purpose, and

applicable to the purposes described, mak

ing up'a' full process of manufacturing"hats, whether fur or other material of suitable character be .used, and, further, whether it is desired to make napped fur hats,fe1t hats,orthe shells for bodies for plush hats.

The fur having been cleaned by blowing in the usual manner, I proceed to form a bator hat-body, or what in some cases is termed a shell." In this process I arrange a solid-surfaced fixed core upon itsstationary table, and around it an annular ring orrevolving table closely fitting the same, to avoid escape of steam, and upon this revolving ring or table is a cone, perfectly solid upon its conic surface, but having its base open, so that it may set over and cover the stationary steam-cone,which is the inner one, and is fixed to the table. The outer cone is perfectly smooth upon its outward or conic surface, is not perforated, and depends upon the wetted surface to retain the fur upon it when it is revolving. body of hot steam into the interior of the statiouary cone. This impinges against the cone so as to heat'it, and thus the space between it and therevolving cone, which causes the fur to dry to a sufficient'degree to harden it, so

that it may be handled and removed from the smooth cone without the use of any inlayer, and also dispense with the necessity ofdipping in hot water for the purpose of hardening, so that it may be handled. Having set the revolving cone in motion, I apply a jet of steam toimpinge againstits outer surface and dampen it. This I'eft'ect by means of pipes so arranged I convey a as to cause every part of the surface of the cone to receive a like amount-of pressure and dampg ness from the steam.

except that theinouth of the delivering-chain ber is-to be regulatedso asto deliver the fur -in'- greater or less quantities on given points or 1 parts"of t-he'congat the will of the operator; so thatthe'fur may-be deposited as in theop-- eratio'n -of bowing by 'hand,'in case of hand made hats'in'ore atlhe bottom or brim and less at thetop' of the cone or tip ofthe hat. .The pipes for steam are attached to the ad just- 'for the purposeynothing as yet has proved fully complete with sufficient economy to induce their general introduction. The machine 'isia semicircular'concave havinga' beater with a vibrating motion, whose o 'ieratin'g-faee is corrugated,although it. may be used plain. lt' has, besides, a continuous or. endless apron peculiar in its construction, 'andthis runs over a friction-roller, which causes it to continually advance-in the desired direction. 7 At the bottom of'the concave box or receiver I place a small quantity of water',just sufficient'to immerse the-bags of hatsq I then introduceat the bottom and underneatl'r the body otlwater a jet of steam, which is 'to heat the water'to boiling I-shall now take a 'nuinber of hatsfrom one to twenty-four dozen in numberebe the same more or less. These I introduce into bags properly confined, so that they maybe readily withdrawn from the water, there being perhaps one or two dozen in a ba These bags I place within the revolving apron and between the corrugated heater and concave of the box within the boiling Water. I then set the beater in mot-ion jointly with the roller carrying the apron, when the back and-forward motion of the beater heats up the bag of hats and the onward motion of the apron keeps ;In thecominon way of conveying and deliv" eliing furto'the con'e,'where hats are formed 4 machines, 'I deliver'the fur to the solid cone,

the several bags in continuous revolution,'and

the heater is constantly and rapidly knocking them up against the side of the concave box. I next take out the bag of hats and croze them in the same manner as hand and machine formed hats usually are-that is, told each one where it is too'much fulled and'expose them where falling is most required, and this is repeated as often as is necessary untilthe hat is brought into the desired size, when it is forwarded for the next part of the process, presently to be described. In this I begin by light blows upon the bags ofhats, and increase the force and motion of the beater as the state;- of hardnessrequires until the operation has completed the sizing of the hats.

Part 3: This relates to the SllCklliLQ' SCflllI- ing, and beatingup of hats. After the hat," has been sized, as hereinbet'ore stated,-it is dried, when it is shaved or singed in the usual manner by hand. stiffened, formed into its proper shape, and dyed. If it is to be a napped hat, it is to be treated inlike manner, when it is again "imf mersed in hot water. This will cause the far to adhere to it. I now place' the bo'dy upo'n a wooden or other solid cone and give it a revolving'motion. Next a chamber'for the dc livery of fur, having its regulated mouth and steam-jets, as described, in, the forming' ma chine in the first part of'this specification, is" broughtqintouse, The steam is then letupon' the body,iand the furprepared in the usual manner is thrown in upon the cone, where it adheres until the quantity of nap is put upon the bat which is desired.

purpose of napping the under side of the brim.

I now proceed to my' new process of nesting up, which is as follows, viz: I make a soft bag for scalding in,'which is performed as follows,

viz: 'A cylinder of wire-clothorperforated lnetal is provided, and is fixed so that one of its ends can be removed so as to introduce the" cylinder or nest of hats. This perforated cyL' inder is arranged so as to-have journals upon each .of its'ends or heads, upon which it may revolve. The hats thus nested are theuput into the cylinder, the last being eonsiderablylarger in its interior then the nest is on its exterior, so that therolling of the metalcylinder will cause the nest of the hats to roll in an op} posite direction. I next providea steam-tight box having the necessary journal-boxes, and at or near its bottom introduce' a jet of steam to the'desired heatandpressure." Ialso'have' a'st'op-cock' near the" bottom 0t this box, by which any water which will become condensed may be drawn off, as contact with water might If it is a felthat, it istheu' V The hats will have to be turned, as in the hand proccss,for' the tend to wash the nap from the body. All these bcing'provi'ded, I give to the perforated cylinder a rocking motion to and fro while in the confined steam-box, and this is to be continued during the option of the operator and until the nap is thoroughly scalded in.

My plan of beating up naps is much like the hand process of accomplishing the same resalt. I provide a table, or plank, as it is termed by the trade, the plank part resting upon a bed-piece and having a water-tight box around it something larger than the plank itselfi' Tothis bed I give a slow reciprocating motion to the extent of about its own length, so that it will move to and'fro'under the beaters. The heaters consist of a row of thin sticks placedfinline ina rocking-shaft, so that they will be beat'down upon the hats or table at eaelrrock of"'thc shat't+that' is, they rise and i'zillas the'shat't'rocks. Aquantity of hot water is' placcd in the -box,just; sufficient to float ov'er the top-of the'plank, when in this and upon" the plank are'placed the napped hats. Ajet of" steam is then let into thewatcr to keep it hot, a'stop cock beinglalso provided by which to draw oft" the surplus water. Allthese being arrangedythe" heater {is put in motion','beatin g downfupontlie table; In n eanwhile'the plank, having becncoveredwithhat's, is also put in motion backwardand forward; Thus the hats areeontinuallybeing beatduring the option ofthe operator until the operation is complete and'the hats are sufficicntl y cleaned.

The cominon'w'ay offo'rmin'g a hat by hand totake th e"carrotedfurin small quantities upon a table and beatjthe particles together witlr a'bow-string, andwhen' the bat is formed itjis wet' in hot water to cause the parts'of the fur toadhere each to theot-her, and when this has beenjcontinued until the bat is sufficiently strongthe bat is sized-that is, it is worked bydippingfin'hot water and rubbing byhand ove ra roller until it is shrunk into a proper size. When the bat is formed by machinery, as :heretotoreused, the fur is blown onto a perforated cone with an air-exhaust to draw and" hold the far into the cone. Such is the weal?statcof the fabric that it is necessary to use a cloth upon the outsideof the cone in order to be able to remove it from the cone. This is called an inlayer, and without it the fur'would adhere to the cone. isto wrapor cover witha wet cloth and then' to immerse in'boiling water, when the whole-1- that is, the inlayer, when it is used, and the bat and the wrapper-arc all stripped off the cone together. In my process I use a smooth unperforated' cone of metal, heated on its in- "terijor and steamed on its outer surface, so that the"fur will adhere to the wet surface, and becoini11g -\vet therewill hold the next layer of fur, which is thrownon at the next revolution of the cone,ja1id so on until the bat has becomeof sufficientthickness. In the meantime the'heat of the cylinder has dried the surface next to and 'in' contact with it, while the continued application of steam to the outer sur Another way" face has wetted it. This wetting-and drying has had the same effect as would the dipping inwater'in the common process, andhas hardened the bat suflicient for removal without the necessity of an inlayer.

his a well-known fact that a bat has not sufiicient strength of itself to bear its own weight until wetted in boiling water, which bringsontthe gluten andcauses one part to adhere to another. Thus by the heating and steaming I effect the hardening while in process of forming, and make a bat which is at once sufficiently strong to handle forsizin g-a result which is in itself novel and far more economical than the hand-hardenin g. Atthe same time a more even and workman-like job is produced. Sizing hats, which means bringingthe bat down from its original form or size to the size to be used, is conducted by hand operation only under the present method, but in my process is worked to better advantage by the use of machinery. I will here refer to the simple but plain description given, with the addition of the remark that it has been considered pre- -vious to my invention that two bodies of the same material did not act when intact or closely packed together to produce motion combined with friction but in this case, where the fabric is the constituent part ofboth bodies, it has proven to be an existent fact; not this alone, butit has also shown it is the best possible agitator, and that by placing many hats side by side and beating or knocking them up is the best possible way of producing the best-fitting size, always provided it be within the hot or boiling water during the operation. Although the common operation is to dip in hot water, and work by hand and over a roller for the purpose of sizing in, the machine referred to gives a more uniform body, and better work is the result of the machine-sized hat.

Sticking the nap is performed by using the bowstring, as in case of forming the bat. In this case, however, the uncarroted fur is used, and the barb of the fur is relied upon to hold it into its place in the felted body. One or more bodies are laid upon the table or plank, a small quantity of fur being properly placed upon the wet hat-body,which has been already worked into shape. This, with the sprinkling of hot water, and other operations, is repeated until the body is fully stuck. The body is then turned so that the opposite side or under side of the brim may be stuck in like manner. This is the hand process, and the only one heretofore adopted. In my new process I place the body upon a block or cone and give it'a rotary motion, and then proceed to steam and blow on the uncarroted fur in a manner to that of forming the bat, this being continued until the napping is complete.

It will not be inappropriate here to remark that the napping material is mixed with the cotton, cut to short lengths, before it is applied to the body for the last coat, and after it is scalded in, the beating up draws out all the cotton, leaving only the fur as a nap. The

object of the use of the cotton-is to dress or clean the nap fur, which, in. being withdrawn the result.

Scalding in naps is performed by handwonly in the presentnianufacture of hats. 1t isidone by dipping in boilingwater and rubbing or rolling the body with the hands rolled upin a cloth until the nap is thoroughly worked in. In my case, the nest of hats rolling in the cylinder works all the hats evenly and-far better than by hand. By this machine I- scald in many dozens of hats in the same time one hat will now be done by hand.

Beating up naps is now performed by hand only, and is as follows, viz: A table is placed so as to be just immersed in hot water, and upon it is placed the scalded-in body. The operator then takes a thin stick in each hand, and passing along up and down the table beats upon the bodies rapidly, and this is continued until the cotton is beat out and the nap is clean. In my improved process I place the hats in a similar manner on a table, giving it the continued heat of steam to keep the water hot, and pass the reciprocating bed slowly to and fro under the rapid beating of a series of sticks, by which much more and better work will be performed in the same time, and this at a very decreased cost.

I would further remark that although a patcut for a machine for rolling single hats between boards while under water was issued to one Rankin in 1839, and such device was intended for the purpose of napping hats, yet by no means do I consider that such application to use is at all similar to my method of application for the purpose of a similar result.

Instead of the plan he referred to, I pack the formed bats into bags, and rely upon the friction while they are being rolled and beaten up within the hot water to cause the felting to take place, which necessarily brings the bat into its desired size. For the purpose of scalding in the nap I nest many hats together and rely upon the friction while the hats are being rolled with a cap between each of the hats, the whole being immersed in hot water to work the nap into the felted body. Thus, although it is not wholly new to work hats under water by means of machinery, yet the leading feature of my invention is to keep a continued working of the hats by manipulations while they are immersed in hot water during the entire process of its being worked by mechanism after the bat is formed. I do not consider the rolling a hat between boards as any equivalent to the plan of working hereinbefore described, including the full process of making a hat, each of these several proceedings being necessary as a part and parcel of beginning and finishing a hat-body by means of a series of operations performed through the aid of machinery. I therefore have adopted the several means herein described of manipulating the mass of hats while under the hot water. Therefore, while I do not claim the principle of ma= may be used to produce the combined result of beating or otherwise manipulatingiu hot water for the purpose of manufacturing a. hat by a complete and continuous range of mechanical operations as a substitute for the dipping and rubbing on a plank by hand, all which is herein fully described.

' LANSING E. HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

J. L. KINGSLEY, W. N. Games. 

